Iowa State Fairgoers overwhelmingly in favor of voter ID

August 26, 2014

Des Moines During the 2014 Iowa State Fair, which ran from August 7 through August 17, the Iowa Secretary of State's booth conducted an unscientific poll which simply asked fairgoers if they "think Iowa voters should show a photo ID to vote," as well as their county of residence. A total of 3,053 votes were cast, with 2,394 "Yes" votes (78.41%); 596 "No" votes (19.52%); and 63 "No Opinion" votes (2.06%).

"Iowans know it's simply common sense that showing an ID at the voting booth helps protect the integrity of their vote. No one wants their vote to be cancelled out by an ineligible voter," Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz said. "As Iowans have shown time and again, Voter ID is common sense and should be a non-partisan issue that Republicans and Democrats should work together to pass."

The county-by-county results of the unscientific poll are posted on the Iowa Secretary of State website. The results are similar to those found by the Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll conducted on February 3-6, 2013 which found 71% of Iowans favor requiring a government-issued photo ID to vote and at the same poll conducted during the 2012 Iowa State Fair in which 76% of participants supported a Voter ID law in Iowa.